Wandering Spirit is the third solo album by Mick Jagger. The 14-track record was released on February 9, 1993 with Mick Jagger and Rick Rubin (The Black Crowes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Cult) sitting behind the boards.
Up to the release of Wandering Spirit, Mick Jagger struggled with launching a full-fledged solo career. Even though his two previous solo efforts - 1985’s She’ s The Boss and 1987’s Primitive Cool were both sincere, respectable efforts, both failed to connect and that indicated that a mass audience wasn’t very interested in Jagger outside the context of The Rolling Stones.
With his third studio release, Jagger had finally accepted that no matter how hard he tried to sound contemporary, he couldn't separate himself from the stigma of being the lead singer The Rolling Stones.
So, with the help of producer extraordinaire Rick Rubin, Jagger moved away from the slick synthesizers of his previous records in favor of a lean, mean, guitar-based approach to the material. The result -Wandering Spirit was the solo record that Rolling Stones fans could get behind.
Like some of those earlier Stones’ albums, Wandering Spirit incorporated numerous musical genres like rock, dance, R&B, country, gospel , and rockabilly, making it a varied and entertaining listen.
Highlights include the rowdy/ Stones-esque album-opener Wired All Night, the rocking Put Me in the Trash, the dance-rock lead single, Sweet Thing , the gospel-esque Don’t Tear Me Up, and the sultry Bill Withers' cover Use Me (with a show-stealing vocal by Lenny Kravitz).
Even though the album was well received and commercially successfully, it was soon forgotten. It’s too bad,it is a very good album and it certainly deserves a dusting off .
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